United StatesSteve K. D. Eichel, Ph.D., ABPP, CST, is a licensed and board-certified psychologist who has served as President of both the Greater Philadelphia Society of Clinical Hypnosis and the American Academy of Counseling Psychology. He was President of the International Cultic Studies Association (ICSA) from 2012–2021 and continues to serve on ICSA’s Board of Directors.Dr. Eichel is an Approved Consultant in Clinical Hypnosis with the American Society of Clinical Hypnosis. He has authored numerous articles and book chapters on hypnosis and cultic processes. He is also known for his widely publicized “cat credentialing project,” which exposed the fraudulent practices of certain lay hypnosis certification boards when his cat was certified as a “hypnotherapist.” As a result, he was banned for life from attending meetings of the National Guild of Hypnotists.
This article reviews enduring debates on hypnosis and mind control, examining its contested role in cult influence and contrasting claims of coercive power with psychological critiques of suggestibility limits.
